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F.W. de Klerk - Biographical

Frederik Willem de Klerk was born
in Johannesburg on March 18, 1936. He is the son of Senator Jan
de Klerk, a leading politician, who became minister in the South
African government. His brother Willem is a liberal newspaperman
and one of the founders of the Democratic Party.

F.W. de Klerk graduated with a law degree from Potchefstroom
University in 1958 and then practiced law in Vereeniging in
the Transvaal. In 1969, he married Marike Willemse, with whom he
has two sons and a daughter. De Klerk was offered a professorship
of administrative law at Potchefstroom in 1972 but he declined
the post because he had been elected to Parliament as National
Party member for Vereeniging at the time.

In 1978, F.W. de Klerk was appointed Minister of Posts and
Telecommunications and Social Welfare and Pensions by Prime
Minister Vorster. Under Prime Minister P.W. Botha, he held a
succession of ministerial posts, including Posts and
Telecommunications and Sports and Recreation (1978-1979), Mines,
Energy and Environmental Planning (1979-1980), Mineral and Energy
Affairs (1980-1982), Internal Affairs (1982-1985), and National
Education and Planning (1984-1989). In 1985, he became chairman
of the Minister's Council in the House of Assembly. On December
1, 1986, he became the leader of the House of Assembly.

As Minister of National Education, F.W. de Klerk was a supporter
of segregated universities, and as a leader of the National Party
in Transvaal, he was not known to advocate reform. In February
1989, de Klerk was elected leader of the National Party and in
September 1989 he was elected State President.

In his first speech after assuming the party leadership he called
for a nonracist South Africa and for negotiations about the
country's future. He lifted the ban on the ANC and released
Nelson Mandela. He brought apartheid to
an end and opened the way for the drafting of a new constitution
for the country based on the principle of one person, one
vote.

This autobiography/biography was written
at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les
Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures/The Nobel Prizes. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted
by the Laureate.

Selected Bibliography

By de Klerk

de Klerk, Willem. The Last Trek
— A New Beginning: The Autobiography. Basingstoke:
Macmillan, 1998.

Other Sources

Benson, Mary. Nelson Mandela, the
Man and the Movement. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1994.
Updated from 1986 edition. Based on interviews by a friend of
Mandela since the 1950s.

de Klerk, Willem. F. W. de Klerk:
The Man in His Time. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball, 1991.
By his brother.

Gilbey, Emma. The Lady. The Life
and Times of Winnie Mandela. London: Cape, 1993. Most
comprehensive biography.

This autobiography/biography was written
at the time of the award and first
published in the book series Les
Prix Nobel.
It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

Addendum, August 1999

As Minister of National Education, F.W. de
Klerk was a supporter of segregated universities but also worked
for the equalisation of expenditure on pupils from all racial
groups. A centrist in the National Party, he led moves in 1982
against the extreme right wing of the party, before being elected
as leader of the party in the Transvaal. In February 1989, de
Klerk was elected leader of the National Party and in September
1989 he was elected State President.

In his first speech after assuming the
party leadership he called for a nonracist South Africa and for
negotiations about the country's future. On 2 February 1990 he
lifted the ban on the ANC and all other political organisations
and announced the release of Nelson Mandela. He brought apartheid
to an end and opened the way for the drafting of a new
constitution for the country based on the principle of one
person, one vote and the entrenchment of basic human rights.

After South Africa's first universal
democratic elections on 27 April 1994, Mr de Klerk was appointed
as Executive Deputy President in South Africa's Government of
National Unity. He held this post until June, 1996 when his party
withdrew from the Government of National Unity. From then until
his retirement from active politics in 1997, Mr De Klerk was the
leader of the official opposition. Mr De Klerk published his
autobiography 'The Last Trek - a New Beginning' in January 1999
and has now established the F W de Klerk Foundation to work for
peace in societies that are divided on cultural, ethnic,
religious or linguistic lines.